After 3 years in detention, De Lima asks Muntinlupa court to grant her bail

Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Three years after she was detained, Senator Leila de Lima sought for provisional liberty by asking a Muntinlupa court to allow her to post bail.

De Lima, through her lawyers, filed for the first time a motion for bail before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC)-Branch 166 in Criminal Case No. 17-166 for alleged conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading.

The said criminal case involves allegations that the senator supposedly demanded money and vehicles for her 2016 senatorial campaign from a New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmate named Peter Co.

The prosecution, De Lima’s camp noted, had contended that Jose Adrian Dera allegedly asked for money and vehicles from Co on behalf of the senator. Dera is De Lima’s co-accused in the said case.

But in the 44-page motion, De Lima’s lawyers claimed that the testimonies of the witness “clearly” manifested that there is “no sufficient evidence, let alone strong evidence” against the senator.

“Instead of proving her guilt, the prosecution itself provided strong evidence of accused De Lima’s innocence and the regularity of the performance of her duties as then Secretary of Justice,” her motion read.

The senator maintained that the evidence against her is “hearsay” since Co “only dealt with Dera.” De Lima further claimed that Co admitted that he never met with or talked to her.

The motion said that prosecution witnesses had testified that De Lima “was never engaged in any illegal drug activity and that she led the successful 2014 NBP raid to eradicate illegal activities inside NBP.”

“Despite its numerous witnesses, the prosecution miserably failed to prove a veritable link between accused De Lima and Dera, much less the alleged conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading among De Lima, Dera, and Peter Co,” the motion claimed.

De Lima’s lawyers also stressed that the senator should be allowed to post bail because the testimonies of the other witnesses against her have “questionable probative value for being irrelevant, hearsay, incredible, biased, and self-serving” and that she is not a flight risk.

“Certainly, the granting of bail to accused De Lima will result in upholding her constitutional presumption of innocence, recognizing her right to due process, and guarantee her appearance in court for the remainder of the trial, and allow her to serve her mandate as a duly-elected senator of the country,” the motion read.

De Lima, one of the Duterte administration’s staunchest critics, has been detained in Camp Crame since February 2017 over what she repeatedly called as “trumped-up” drug-related charges against her.

JPV